Principal Investigator: Rebecca D. Tarvin

I am intrigued by the evolutionary mechanisms underlying adaptation and diversification. My interests in research are grounded in an appreciation for natural history, especially (but not limited to) frogs.

Research in my lab employs diverse techniques in the lab and field that pull from molecular biology, phylogenetics, neurobiology, genomics, and physiology. Current projects investigate origins of acquired chemical defenses in frogs, flies, and snakes.

Outside of the lab I am interested in many sorts of creative projects, from 3D-printing to painting and baking. I also love to cycle, play soccer, and follow politics.

The Tarvin Lab is currently recruiting highly motivated graduate students and postdocs!

Current Graduate Students

Valeria Ramírez Castañeda

My main research interest is understanding the evolution of traits generated by interactions between organisms, especially by the predator-prey interactions, mostly in amphibians and reptiles. I am also interested in the evolution of toxicity resistance and the genetic basis of neurotoxin resistance. On the other hand, I like to contribute to science communication in Spanish and diversity in STEM.

Contact: vramirezc [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Tyler Douglas

I am interested in how factors at the molecular, genetic level converge with an organism’s behavioral ecology to shape the evolution of novel, complex traits. An organism’s diet and ecological interactions can drive evolutionary adaptations that significantly change its physiology at both the cellular and organismal level. How the genome both assimilates these changes and potentiates their emergence are questions of particular interest to me.

Outside of the lab I enjoy cycling, writing poems about science and life, and pretty much anything involving being outdoors.

Contact: tyler.douglas [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Current Undergraduate Students

Noah Martin

I am an undergraduate Integrative Biology major at UC Berkeley. My primary research interests concern cephalopod intelligence, physiology, and evolution, but I am also broadly interested in the evolution and genetics of marine invertebrates. My project in the Tarvin lab focuses on nudibranch genomics and transcriptomics. Outside the lab I enjoy surfing, SCUBA diving, and generally being in or on the water.

Contact: noah.martin [at] berkeley [dot] edu

Kristen Tamsil

Yin Chen Wan

I am an undergraduate majoring in Genetics at University College Dublin, interested in how gene expression affects the phenotypes of animals. Currently, I am working on frog opsins and nudibranch cerata transcriptomes in the lab. Outside of the lab I enjoy reading and traveling.